Hello everyone, I have made the decision to run the formidable Leeds marathon in support of a cause that is very dear to my heart and close to home!

When I found out that my best friend and partner had received the shocking news of a thyroid cancer diagnosis, it drastically changed our way of life from the routine to the terrifying, unknowable effects of this terrible illness.

My partner Katie has since had ongoing treatment which has included surgery for the removal of her Thyroid (Thyroidectomy) and surrounding lymph nodes, two rounds of Radio-Iodine (RAI) treatment and life long medication to help supress the disease and replace thyroid hormones.

Katie now has to attend quarterly check ups with her oncologist and have regular blood tests to ensure the disease does not rear its head again as thyroid cancer has a high reoccurrence rate.

Raising money for Katies charity would enable Imperial Health Charity to research further into pre-clinical studies looking at molecular targets for personalised cancer treatment.

So far the fund has assisted with a pre-liminary study looking at molecular defects in indeterminate thyroid nodules and cancers after surgery with a view to improving diagnostics, and finding targets for Chemotherapy in the situation where radio-iodine (RAI) treatment fails.

The money you donate would also be able to fund a researcher as well as lab space and equipment for them to continue with their molecular studies.

At present any government funding into cancer research is given to the more widely known cancers such as breast, lung, bowel and skin cancer, and although these are just as important this leaves the lesser known cancers like thyroid cancer with little funding.

Thank you for reading and for your donation whether big or small,

Scott